About the Engagement 

The mayor’s office in one of the largest cities in the nation created a program to support minority and/or women-owned businesses (M/WBE). The program’s goal was to empower and support minority and women-owned businesses to foster economic growth, diversity, and inclusivity within the city’s business landscape.  

Business Problem  

The mayor’s office identified that there was a significant challenge within the M/WBE certification process. The engagement team’s goal was to identify and alleviate pain points that hindered efficient certification for minority and women-owned businesses. The complexity of the process often discouraged potential applicants and slowed down the growth of M/WBEs in the city. 

Challenges 

Some of the challenges that the engagement team experienced were administrative bottlenecks, unclear documentation requirements, and delays in the evaluation and approval process. In addition, the engagement team had to create and present the benefits of journey mapping. This process included identifying and defining key customers and services, identifying customer pain points, assessing strengths and areas for growth to improve customer experience and empowering critical experiences and perspectives that were underrepresented or misunderstood. 

Project Impacts and Outcomes  

The engagement team collaborated with the mayor’s office to build comprehensive journey maps, or data-driven visual representations of what customers experience (e.g., pain and love points) in their interactions with an organization. These maps covered the end-to-end lifecycle of a M/WBE’s experience working in the city, from applying for certification to bidding and winning contracts with the city. As a result of the engagement team’s efforts, the project achieved several notable outcomes: 

• Business Participation: The simplified and user-friendly application process attracted a higher number of applicants, reflecting increased interest and engagement in the M/WBE Program. 
• Diversity and Inclusivity: By addressing the pain points in the certification process, the M/WBE program fostered greater diversity and inclusivity within the city’s business landscape, aligning with the overarching goals of the mayor’s initiative. 
• Stakeholder Satisfaction: Stakeholders, including M/WBE owners, program administrators, and city officials, reported satisfaction with recommendations outlined by the engagement team, communicating that this effort will drive to improved communication, transparency, and efficiency.